Nobody from a 4-8 team is irreplaceable. Nobody. Starting with the head coach on down.
Is there personnel we'd prefer to keep? Sure. Irreplaceable. Nuh uh.
Is there personnel we'd prefer to keep? Sure. Irreplaceable. Nuh uh.
Repeat after me:
- Thread starter 18IsTheMan
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So, who would you like to see replace Lucas?
Was it talent or coaching? We have talent in other areas which did not produce this type of results.
In 2024, SEC Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Kennard was a consensus All-American and the Bednarik Award winner as the top defensive player in the country. Joining Kennard was Freshman All-American and All-SEC performer Dylan Stewart. Stewart again earned All-SEC honors in 2025, and senior Bryan Thomas Jr. joined him after leading the team with eight sacks.
The South Carolina defense nearly set a new program record for sacks in 2024 with 41. That number was also tied for 10th-best in college football, and three teams ahead of the Gamecocks played 16 games thanks to College Football Playoff berths.
Was it talent or coaching? We have talent in other areas which did not produce this type of results.
In 2024, SEC Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Kennard was a consensus All-American and the Bednarik Award winner as the top defensive player in the country. Joining Kennard was Freshman All-American and All-SEC performer Dylan Stewart. Stewart again earned All-SEC honors in 2025, and senior Bryan Thomas Jr. joined him after leading the team with eight sacks.
The South Carolina defense nearly set a new program record for sacks in 2024 with 41. That number was also tied for 10th-best in college football, and three teams ahead of the Gamecocks played 16 games thanks to College Football Playoff berths.
I am not going to go through the energy of googling DE coaches and then pretend like I knew who they are. I don’t know who should replace him. But that doesn’t get around the fact that we were 4–8 this season. We weren’t great at anything. Our defense was good relative to our offense, but we were not outstanding at anything.
All season long our fans gripe and moan about our terrible OL. Then we lose an OL to the portal and the same fans bemoan the loss.
Coaches don't love their employer school like the fans unless it's their alma mater. This is how they earn a living.
Lucas has done a fantastic job and they need to fight to keep him. Some of yall act like this program has nothing right now. I mean we’re talking about probably 5-7 guys in the past two years that are in the nfl or are about to be in the last two years alone. This is strictly on the defensive line too.
I acknowledged there is personnel we'd prefer to keep, but it's a position coach.
Back to one of the original questions
Was it talent or coaching? We have talent in other areas which did not produce this type of results.
In 2025, the most recent season, Gamecocks had 21 total sacks, about half of 2024. Why Stewart was All-SEC in 2025 is a mystery. He had 4.5 sacks in 2025, hardly an amazing number.
Saying the defense was "good" is only true in comparison to the offense. It is sort of like saying gonorrhea is good when compared to syphilis.
